In Southwest Philly, everyone gets a Thanksgiving plate

On Thanksgiving Day, 20 years ago, Raenette Fields was racing to the store for a last-minute ingredient she needed for her family’s holiday feast. On her way through Southwest Philly, she saw something she would never forget.

She saw a group of children at one of the neighborhood Chinese restaurants ordering food, one of the only places still open on the holiday afternoon. She took it to mean that they didn’t have any turkey or mac and cheese waiting for them at home.

“That just blew my mind,” Fields said. Eating a home-cooked feast with her own family every year for Thanksgiving meant a lot to Fields, and it hurt her to think about children in her neighborhood who wouldn’t get the same experience. So, from then on, she decided to put on a feast for them.

That way, “every child can say they at least had a Thanksgiving meal,” she said.

Now, for the 20th year in a row, “Ms. Rae,” 58, is organizing an entirely free Thanksgiving feast for her Southwest Philly community. It will take place this Thursday, Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. at the Kingsessing Recreation Center. In years past, as many as 300 people have stopped by to grab a plate full of Thanksgiving classics.

“Whatever I can do for my community, I do it.”

There will be plenty of food to go around. Fields said that this year, she, her family, and other helpers are planning to cook six turkeys, two hams, two turkey hams, two roast beef, plus trays and trays of sides —macaroni and cheese, stuffing, collard greens, and more.

And anyone is welcome, even those planning on having their own Thanksgiving celebrations next week. Fields’ intention is “to create that space for folks who otherwise wouldn’t have it. But part of creating that space and community [means not] excluding anyone,” said Christina Sorenson, one of Fields’ neighbors.

Fields said that this year’s community feast is especially important because it falls on her mother’s birthday. Mildred “Ms. Mini” Fields, who passed away two years ago, touched many people in their Southwest Philly community, and she taught Raenette and her siblings how important it was to give back to others. “Everybody knew Ms. Mini around here,” she said.

“Her entire family, the Fields family, has been in the community and giving back to this community for as long as I can remember,” said Jessica Moore, a neighbor who has known Fields her entire life. For the last 30 years, Fields has lived next door to her childhood home, and members of her family still live in that childhood house or elsewhere nearby.

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“What I do, I do from my heart because [of] the way I was raised,” Fields said. “... My mother was a giving person. And everybody [says], ‘You’re just like your mother. You always give.’”

That includes giving much of her own money. Every year, Fields spends hundreds of dollars that she earns as a home health aide on the feast. She gets some help through donations from community members, but still estimated that she puts in $500 to $600 to make sure the event happens.

“Food [costs are] so high. I’m struggling right now,” she admitted. Costs aren’t the only thing she is dealing with. About a month ago, when Fields was leaving work late at night in South Philly, she said, she was robbed at gunpoint. The experience rattled her, and she’s taken some time off work since then. But even still, she wouldn’t let it stop her from putting together the feast for her community.

She did much of the initial organizing and coordination by word of mouth or with her landline phone, until her family could get her a new cell. “It’s gonna be a success. I’m gonna make sure [it’s] a success,” she said.

“She’s always been a positive person and a pillar for the community,”

“The Thanksgiving dinner must go on,” said Sorenson, amazed by Fields’ commitment. “She’s really just one of those people that loves everybody and holds the community together.”

“She’s always been a positive person and a pillar for the community,” Moore said.

After all of the exhausting preparation and planning for the feast, Fields plans to do it all again next week. She and her family will get together for their own Thanksgiving meal at her childhood home, cooking the same foods again that they worked together to make for their neighbors.

She swears she doesn’t get tired of eating turkey. “No, no no. Because you can do certain things with the turkey. You can make turkey salad, turkey soup. You [can] do things with the turkey,” she said.

This year as she and her family gather for their more intimate Thanksgiving celebration and share what they are thankful for, Fields will keep her message simple. “I’m thankful for my family and I’m definitely thankful that I’m still here to be able to [put together this feast],” she said.

“Everybody is not as fortunate as me. So whatever I can do for my community, I do it.”